South Fayetteville city with community at its core
Hope Mills was once a mill town in Cumberland County, known for its lumber, cotton and sawmills. The city was incorporated in 1891, but landmarks like the Big Rockfish Presbyterian Church show the town’s age, as the Greek Revival building was built in 1855. Over 17,000 residents live in the city today, some of whom retired from the army or still work at Fort Bragg. “Hope Mills is more preferred than Fayetteville because of Gray’s Creek High School and the new construction,” says Amanda Wynn, a Realtor and broker with simpliHOM with over five years of real estate experience. “People also move to Hope Mills to be close to Fayetteville without having to pay city taxes.” Hope Mills’ slogan is “A Proud Past, A Bright Future,” honoring the city’s past as a mill town and recognizing how the area continues to grow as more residents move in for access to schools, new homes and community events.
Residents prefer locally owned restaurants
While most people who move to the Fayetteville area are stationed at Fort Bragg, Hope Mills' economy is driven by education, health care, retail and food services. The Walmart Distribution Center alone employs over 1,000 workers.
Some businesses, like Cumberland Coffee Roasters, are ingrained in the community’s daily life. The coffee shop opened in 2011, and the baristas know many of their regular guests by name, even chatting with them about their families and jobs. Grandson’s Buffet has been in Hope Mills since 2005. "Hope Mills has some really nice restaurants,” Wynn says. “Our Realtor association actually held an event at Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom. The name makes you think, but it was nice.” Dirtbag Ales brews its own beer and serves food from Napkins Restaurant, which is next door to the taproom and has outdoor seating. Hope Mills residents also visit for live music on the weekends and the farmers market in the summer and fall.
Locally owned and chain restaurants line North Main Street, along with big box stores and small shopping centers. Downtown Fayetteville is a short drive away, with even more restaurants.
Established and growing neighborhoods
The city has a mix of established neighborhoods and ones that are still growing with newly constructed homes. Subdivisions like Valley End and Sheffield Farm North have Craftsman homes built as recently as 2024 that range from $295,000 to $345,000. The higher end of the city’s price range is made up of Craftsmans that land in the $400,000s. The lower end has ranch-style homes in the $200,000s, like in Golf Acres. Regardless of the subdivision, properties often have large yards, attached garages and sidewalk-free streets in front of paved driveways. Hope Mill’s median home price is $298,000, well below the $418,700 national median reported by the National Association of Realtors.
Future farmers and athletes learn at Gray’s Creek
Students in Hope Mills attend Cumberland County Schools, a large district that serves more than 50,000 students. The district gets a B from Niche. Rockfish Elementary School is the highest-rated elementary school. Many students attend Gray’s Creek High School, which receives a B-minus and offers a Future Farmers of America club, an award-winning marching band and championship-winning athletic teams.
Hope Mills Lake views and community events
Hope Mills Municipal Park is the heart of the city, surrounded by a library, fire department, police department, recreation center and town hall. Kids can use the skate park, playground and baseball fields from dawn to dusk. The Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department transforms the park into the Ole Mill Days Festival every October, which usually includes a farmers market, food vendors, beer garden and petting zoo. The park is the main venue for multiple holiday events, but Wynn points out the popular Christmas Parade of Lights. Participants turn their cars into floats covered in lights and drive them down Main Street, leading marching bands and people walking in the parade.
Hope Mill Lake features a boat launch and dock for fishing enthusiasts to use for a day of luring in largemouth bass or bluegills. When the weather warms up, Big T’s opens and sells snacks and ice cream to visitors who stop by to hang out on the playground or swim in the designated lake area.
Preventing road floods and average crime rates
In the past, hurricanes have caused severe rain and flooding in Hope Mills. The town has a hurricane preparedness guide on its website and an Adopt-A-Drain program so volunteers can keep an eye on drains within their neighborhoods, clear them out and prevent residential floods. Otherwise, the city has humid summers and mild winters. Being roughly 15 minutes from Fort Bragg also means occasionally hearing the sound of helicopters and explosions from artillery exercises. The noise can increase when Marines visit the base for training. The base often releases advance notices on social media to alert residents of noise-generating events.
In a 2023 annual report, the Hope Mill Police Department reported 2,025 total crimes for the year. There were more nonviolent crimes than violent crimes. According to FBI data, Hope Mills’ reported nonviolent crime rate was slightly higher than state and national average in 2023, while the reported violent crime rate was on par with state and national averages.
Traveling to base and around Fayetteville
Fort Bragg is one of the main factors driving people into the Fayetteville area. Hope Mills residents have a 15-mile commute north along U.S. Route 59 to the base. Legion Road leads roughly 10 miles northeast to Downtown Fayetteville, which holds historic buildings, locally owned shops and restaurants. Hope Mills also has easy access to Interstate 95, a major north-south corridor that most people take when traveling 77 miles to Raleigh.
The city is 5 miles from Fayetteville Regional Airport, which offers direct flights to Charlotte and Atlanta, Georgia. Two medical clinics are in the area, but the nearest hospital is the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in downtown Fayetteville. Most places of worship within Hope Mills are churches, but there’s also the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in the northern part of town.
